Star-struck in Singapore: 29 Michelin restaurants in 2016

Published on 22 Mar 2017.

Singapore has made history for being the only place in the world where one can have the cheapest Michelin-starred meal at SGD 2 (USD 1.50).

Thanks to the inaugural launch of the MICHELIN Guide Singapore 2016, this gastronomic hub has now reached an even more prestigious level on the world stage.

To gourmands, this might come as no surprise. After all, the nation’s favourite pastime is eating and the country is constantly making waves to achieve new culinary heights at every turn. It was a matter of time, then, that the prestigious guide finally descended upon the island’s shores.

In 2015, anonymous Michelin inspectors rated local establishments based on five criteria—quality of ingredients used, mastery of cooking techniques and flavours, projection of the chef’s personality in his or her cuisine, value for money and consistency (both over time and across the entire menu). This culminated in a fitting tribute to the depth and diversity of culinary options in the guide, with over 29 eateries given the honour of the Star, and ranging from humble hawker stalls to top-notch fine-dining establishments.

The local street food scene had much to cheer about, with two hawker stalls (Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle and Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle) making history by garnering one Michelin star each.

With Singapore’s melting pot of influences and cultures, the list also pays tribute to the nation’s diverse range of cuisines with picks such as The Song of India (Indian), Candlenut (Peranakan) and Putien at Kitchener Road (Chinese). And of course, rounding up the stellar line-up were illustrious fine-dining establishments that set a whole new standard in gastronomic indulgence.

Here is the complete list of restaurants in Singapore that have been star-struck. For the latest updates, behind-the-scenes interviews and reservations at selected restaurants, visit the official Singapore MICHELIN Guide website at www.guide.michelin.sg.

THREE STARS

Serving up plates of refined, contemporary French cuisine in an Art Deco-inspired dining room, the award-winning chef’s restaurant is the sole three-star recipient in the country. Try the famous farmer’s guinea fowl with roast foie gras, or the poached lobster in a spicy bouillon.

TWO STARS

Guests are part of the culinary action at the Singapore outpost of L’Atelier, with just a counter separating the kitchen and dining area. The dramatic décor in this contemporary French restaurant can also be attributed to world-renowned designer Pierre-Yves Rochon.

Executive chef Sebastien Lepinoy helms this institution—it opened in 1994 and is the first restaurant by the Les Amis Group—at Shaw Centre, serving up plates of delicious French food combined with a light touch of Asian aesthetics.

Located at the iconic National Gallery Singapore, this 40-seater establishment only opened in 2015 but it has already earned a reputation for its notoriously hard-to-secure tables. It’s testament to chef-owner Julien Royer’s excellent take on modern French cuisine, which has been making waves even before it won two Michelin stars.

This Japanese restaurant at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore is the brand’s first foray outside of its home country, where it has 14 branches in six cities. Helmed by third-generation chef Chen Kentaro, learn to appreciate his Japanese take on Sichuan cuisine through Chen’s Mapo Doufu (spicy Sichuan tofu), the most popular item on the menu made with an inspired family recipe.

Opened by the Emmanuel Stroobant Group, this Japanese fine-dining restaurant promises a world-class Edomae sushi experience, where fresh seafood and produce are flown in daily to Singapore from Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market.

ONE STAR

Enjoy Asian-influenced Spanish-European cuisine at this restaurant in five-star Goodwood Park Hotel. Most of the servings, including the meats, are tapas-sized, which allow for the tasting of more dishes. It is headed by German chef Juan Amador, who has won three Michelin stars, prior to this venture, for his restaurant Amador in Mannheim, Germany.

Run byGerman-Brazilian chef Ivan Brehm—who sharpened his knives at three-Michelin-star restaurant The Fat Duck and Thomas Keller’s Per Se in NYC—the 36-seater restaurant serves up a range of innovative fusion dishes such as the coconut risotto and uni pasta.

This fine-dining establishment marries French cuisine with fresh Japanese produce.Enjoy an intimate and gastronomic dining experience through a series of courses served by Chef de Cuisine, Kenji Yamanaka.

Founded by rising young local chef Malcolm Lee, this restaurant combines modern and traditional techniques in a bid to reinvent the local Peranakan (Straits Chinese) cuisine, which often combines Malay and Indonesia cooking techniques with Chinese ingredients and aromatic spices.

Located in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Botanic Gardens, it is apt that home-grown chef Jason Tan serves cuisine belonging in the gastro-botanica realm, where dishes are centred on the use of vegetables.

Situated in Paragon Shopping Centre in the heart of Singapore’s main shopping belt, this Chinese restaurant has won numerous accolades, which can be attributed to its consistently good dim sum (bite-sized Cantonese dishes served in steamer baskets or small plates), and Cantonese and Teochew favourites infused with modern flavours.

This steakhouse in Marina Bay Sands serves up all things meat-grilled over hard wood and charcoal. Choose from a fine range of beef selections such as the Australian Angus; Wagyu from the USA, Australia and Japan; and Japanese A5 Kobe Beef from Hyogo Prefecture.

The first-ever hawker stall to achieve a Michelin star, there were already one-hour long queues before it was conferred the accolade. It has been in business since 1932, and although it has moved locations, it is still the best place to enjoy a delicious bowl of bak chor mee (minced meat noodles).

The other hawker store to be conferred the prestigious accolade, owner Chan Hon Meng serves up delicious plates of roasted pork rice, char siew (roast pork) rice and noodles, in addition to the two signature dishes reflected in the store’s name.

This Chinese restaurant is part of a food empire that comprises 24 branches across Hong Kong, Macau, China, and Singapore, some of which have also been awarded Michelin Stars. Signature dishes include the Peking duck and its range of double-boiled soups.

Meats and selected seafood items on Osia’s menu are air-flown from Australia, many of which are sourced from smaller farms. At this chic restaurant with a beech stone hearth oven at its centre, Australian chef Scott Websitester presents seasonal dishes that are innovative and infused with a distinct flair from Down Under.

In search of a better life, owner and founder Fong Chi Chung left his hometown of Putian, a coastal suburb in Fujian, China. He opened his first Chinese restaurant in Singapore in 2000 as a tribute to his hometown, and the brand has since grown to a stable of ten outlets in the country.

Opened by British chef Paul Longworth, this intimate restaurant in a quaint Duxton Hill shop house has just seven tables in the dining room. The seasonal menu in the French restaurant is also just as compact, with carefully curated choices.

Helmed by head chef Koichiro Oshino, this is executive chef Shinji Kanesaka’s (who has two Michelin stars under his belt) first outpost outside of Japan. The omakase (chef-chosen) menu is skillfully executed here, and on the menu is a mix of fresh sashimi and sushi, alongside cooked dishes such as the five-hour steamed Hokkaido abalone.

This second offshoot is headed by chef Shunsuke Kikuchi, who takes centre stage at the Japanese cypress counter, where he works with finesse to serve up classic Edomae-style sushi, premium cuts of sashimi and other authentic Japanese dishes in the simply-furnished 18-seater restaurant.

Cantonese dishes such as the xiao long bao—a soup dumpling usually with a meat filling—have been given a facelift by executive chef Cheung Siu Kong. The version in this restaurant has lobster and crabmeat, surrounded by a lobster broth, reflecting the establishment’s classy and refined setting.

A branch of Ginza Sushi based in Tokyo, Japan, this 24-seater establishment with a Zen-like interior serves up Edomae-style sushi; where the seafood is freshly acquired from the famed Tsukiji Market. There are exclusively kaiseki (traditional multi-course) menus, with a few different sets to choose from.

The menu changes regularly at this Japanese-Italian restaurant and is based on the availability of hand-picked seasonal ingredients. Run by Tokyo-born chef Seita Nakahara, the pasta is freshly made at the premises daily—based on techniques he learnt from classically-trained Italian chefs.

The only Indian cuisine restaurant to make the list, this fine-dining establishment is the place to try modern Indian cuisine. Go for the lunch buffet, where the palate can be tempted and teased with its elaborately-spiced delicacies.

Indulge yourself in a ten-course degustation meal at Tetsuya Wakuda’s Singapore outpost in Marina Bay Sands. The intimate 25-seater establishment takes its name from two Japanese words—waku means “to arise” while ghin means “silver”—and is known for the season’s best produce and sensational skyline views.